Flower power: feed your garden a broth, slurry or tea

Unsure what to feed your garden? Use various herbal preparations to fortify your plants against pests, diseases and fungus. Make sure to dilute your concoctions with rain or tap water that's been allowed to sit so the chlorine and fluoride can dissipate.

• Create an extract or infusion by putting about one kilogram (two pounds) of herbs into 10 litres/quarts of cold water for up to 24 hours. You can then strain the infusion and use it in its diluted form. A stinging nettle extract keeps pests away; a garlic extract with a little added liquid soap can combat aphids and prevent fungal diseases.
• Make an herbal broth with equal parts of the extract and cold water. After letting the mixture sit for about a day, boil it gently for about 30 minutes.
• Spray common horsetail infusion to ward off many diseases, including leaf drop disease in berries, leaf spot disease, peach leaf curl, powdery mildew, brown rot, rust, bottom rot in lettuce, marssonina leaf spot and scab. Mixed with a little soft soap, it's also effective against aphids and spider mites.
• Combat snails by spraying an infusion made from bracken fern, fir cones or strong coffee.
• Basil tea (40 grams/eight teaspoons) of dried leaves in one litre/quart of water) is an excellent spray weapon against leaf lice and spider mites.
• To make a tea, snip off fresh herbs and place them in a bowl or large cup. Pour boiling water over the herbs and let the liquid steep for about 10 minutes.
• Make an herbal slurry by soaking about one kilogram (two pounds) of fresh or about 150 grams (five ounces) of dried herbs in one litre/quart of water and let it ferment for 10–20 days, stirring daily. Use herbal slurries only in highly diluted form.
• Use a birch leaf slurry with fresh leaves as preventative medicine for fungus on leaves and fruits; a dandelion slurry promotes a better-quality yield from most berry and fruit trees.